Chapter 105: The Heavenly Mechanism

“Hmm, how so?” Chen Yan asked.

“The most suspicious thing isn’t the crimes rumored against Lord Chen Jue—they’re all baseless anyway. Those aren’t the real issue.”

“The most suspicious thing is that after three years of investigation, I still can’t find out where Lord Chen Jue went or what he did during those years. As if, after being transferred from Luoyan Town, he vanished completely. That’s impossible!”

You Su Yi breathed heavily, gritting her teeth: “When he was transferred from Luoyan Town, I, as the clerk of the Town Commander’s Office, personally saw the official document from the War Department! That document bore the Immortal Register seal of the Supreme Commander of the War Department!”

“I concluded that after leaving Luoyan Town, he must have been reassigned to another town command.”

“But I asked my comrades in the military to check—among all the Immortal Registers and legal credentials in the Three Platforms, Eight Passes, and Sixteen Towns, there’s not a single trace of Chen Jue’s name!”

“We have no idea where the War Department sent him after Luoyan Town. And his records in the Immortal Registers and legal credentials ceased entirely after Luoyan Town!”

“This also proves that rumors about him embezzling supplies or killing his deputy are just lies.”

“Yet ultimately, this man vanished as if evaporated—no records anywhere show where he was or what he did these past years. Then, after decades of silence, he suddenly became infamous, hunted by all.”

Chen Yan’s expression turned grave.

Indeed, it was bizarre.

You Su Yi’s face twisted strangely, a flicker of fear in her eyes. She sighed softly: “And so, I arrived at a suspicion that terrifies even me when I think of it…”

Though they were deep within a sunless stone chamber, the old fox couldn’t help glancing left and right, as if fearing some unseen presence in the void.

“Friend, only now are we outside the Domain. This world has its own Dao, independent of the Domain—that’s why I dare speak of this to you.” You Su Yi sighed, lowering her voice: “If we were inside the Domain, I would never dare mention this to you.”

Hearing this, Chen Yan’s heart tightened.

“Friend, think: what must be true for someone to become infamous, hunted by all?”

Chen Yan thought a moment: “The prerequisite… is that he committed many evil deeds?”

“No!” You Su Yi shook her head, then spoke slowly: “The prerequisite is that this person must have been famous—known throughout the world!”

Chen Yan’s face changed instantly.

He was no fool—he’d simply missed it at first, but the old fox’s words snapped everything into clarity.

To become infamous, you must first have a reputation!

To be hunted by all, you must first be known by all!

Only when a top celebrity is caught does the world erupt.

If it’s just Wang Ermazi from some village… who even knows who he is?

In Chen Yan’s real world, with its online platforms and self-media, even an unknown person could become famous overnight—a single essay could land them on the trending list.

The Domain, of course, has no Douyin or Weibo, no trending headlines.

So for someone to become known across the entire Domain, it couldn’t happen overnight.

It must have taken years of accumulated renown, passed mouth to mouth, spreading slowly until everyone knew his name.

Chen Jue—this man has no records for decades. As if he vanished, unheard of for years… no one knew where he was or what he did.

A man with zero fame, in a world without media… suddenly becomes infamous, hunted by all… with maximum recognition?

That’s terrifying.

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“I’ve thought and thought—the most likely possibility is… the entire Domain already knew of Lord Chen Jue’s deeds. He was already famous throughout the Domain! But when I asked many people—humans, demons, ghosts—from the noblest families down to the lowliest soldiers…”

“Every single person I asked couldn’t tell me what Chen Jue had done in the past decades.”

“They couldn’t even recall his past reputation. They simply knew, inexplicably, that he was a great evil. Suddenly, in recent years, they knew he was utterly wicked—and thus, he became infamous, hunted by all.”

The old fox suddenly pointed at her own nose: “Even I suspect… that I… when I say I don’t know where Lord Chen Jue went or what he did during those decades…”

“Perhaps I actually knew—but those decades of memory… vanished!”

“After the memory of him disappeared, I suddenly only remembered he was a great evil—and then I heard rumors of his crimes…”

Chen Yan fell silent for a moment, then raised his head, eyes gleaming, whispering: “Masking the Heavenly Mechanism?”

You Su Yi trembled.

She stared at Chen Yan for several long moments, then sighed: “Friend, you truly are a descendant of the Supreme Ones—your lineage’s insight is exceptional. You’ve guessed my thought so quickly—yes! After much deliberation, only this possibility remains.”

Chen Yan thought: It’s not that I’m insightful, nor am I a descendant of a Supreme One…

It’s simply because I, Chen the Benevolent, once read a novel by some seafood merchant that had this exact plot.

“To mask the Heavenly Mechanism—to make the entire Domain forget the deeds of someone who was once famous—this requires a Great One to wield supreme cultivation, altering the Dao itself to affect all beings in the Domain!”

You Su Yi’s voice carried a chill: “Such a technique… not even a Supreme One can accomplish it… unless the Great Heavenly Sovereign himself intervenes!”

The Great Heavenly Sovereign?

Chen Yan frowned: “What could Chen Jue have done to make the Great Heavenly Sovereign personally intervene, masking the Heavenly Mechanism and rewriting the Domain’s collective memory?”

“I don’t know,” You Su Yi said coldly. “But such a technique cannot deceive everyone. Those above the Supreme Rank—the Saint-class—have already merged with the Dao. This masking of the Heavenly Mechanism has no effect on them.”

“So… in the entire Domain, only forty-two people now know the truth.”

Chen Yan nodded: “Thirty-six Supreme Ones, four Earth Sovereigns, two Heavenly Sovereigns.”

“Yes. Only these forty-two Saint-class beings atop the heavens are unaffected by the masking of the Heavenly Mechanism—they alone know the truth.”

“But my rank is too low. Such a secret, involving the Great Heavenly Sovereign’s direct intervention, would never be revealed to me.”

Chen Yan fell silent, pondering deeply—but still found no answer.

Yet one suspicion arose.

Chen Jue once swore: If one day he ascended to the Saint Rank, he would sever the Dao itself!

Could his eventual fate be tied to that vow?

Could the Great Heavenly Sovereign’s intervention—masking the Heavenly Mechanism, rewriting the Domain’s perception of Chen Jue—be connected to it?

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(Turn the page—there’s another chapter)

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